Category Archives: Associations

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has informed that the venue of the inauguration of IATO convention has been shifted from Indira Gandhi Pratishthan to Centrum Hotel in Lucknow. The date and time will remain the same, 1.e. 16 December at 5pm, and it will be inaugurated by the CM. The inauguration of the IATO Travel Mart will also happen on 16 December at 7pm, instead of 17 December 10 pm.   

Delegates of FHRAI attended a pre-budget meeting chaired by the FM where it put forth requests with special emphasis on granting infrastructure status to the hospitality industry. FHRAI has also requested for continuation of the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCGS) for another 10 years and extension on the repayment period under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) of 10 years or based on the loan repayment period of the principal loan. FHRAI will submit a detailed representation to the FM shortly.

 WTTC’s Cities Economic Impact Report (EIR), has revealed that by 2032, the travel & tourism sector will directly generate up to 8% of all jobs in the 82 cities analysed in the Cities Report, up from 6.6% in 2019 and a low of 5.1% in 2020.

Speaking at the WTTC Global Summit in Riyadh, Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General, UNWTO said, “This year, we brought tourism to the UN General Assembly for the first time and we have also put tourism on the G20 agenda. UNWTO can be your voice at the global governance level.”

Riaz Munshi was re-elected as the President of OTOAI Managing Committee for the term 2022-24. Shravan Bhalla was elected as Vice President, Sidharth Khanna as Gen. Secretary, Gurdeep Gujral as Treasurer, and Monia Kapoor as Joint Secretary were selected respectively. 

Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) will be announcing its new team today for the term 2022-24. The existing team will be taking over unopposed and some shuffle in positions is expected. Currently, Riaz Munshi is President, Himanshu Patil is Vice President, Shravan Bhalla is Gen. Secretary and Siddharth Khanna is Treasurer.

Ravi Gosain, Vice President, IATO said, “Many of us are concerned about what will happen in the future, things have changed, products have changed, and many of the FTOs with whom we do business are no longer in business. As a result, we must create new markets for ourselves. So, these are the few things we will discuss during the Convention, which is why we have specifically chosen this theme, inbound tourism what lies ahead.” 

J&K Pilgrim & Leisure Tour Operators Forum (PILTOF), the premier Tourism body of J&K having iconic members with more than 40 years’ experience in travel trade held the season’s first interactive session with top 140 Travel Agents of Thailand & members of Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA). In his welcome address, the Chairman Showkat Pakhtoon while welcoming the guests emphasized the need for marketing India and Kashmir aggressively since all the travel trade fraternity has suffered due to the pandemic and it is our responsibility that PAN India destinations are to be sold in THAI market aggressively. Dharmendra Singh, First Secretary (Economic & Commerce) and Head of Chancery, Embassy of India in Thailand who was the Chief Guest assured Thai agents all support from Embassy for facilitation to visit India. The Indian Embassy Official present Bhaskar Kalra also gave a presentation on Incredible India. The TTAA was represented by its Vice Presidents Shivek Sachdev and Sittichai Odomkitthanakul, Asstt Secretary NINA, besides other Office Bearers. PILTOF was represented by Chairman, Showkat Pakhtoon, Vice Chairman, Noor Shangloo, Event Head Nasir Shah and senior members Mohammad Akram Siah, Mir Anwar and Ather Yameen.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO while addressing the Interactive Luncheon Meeting said, “The way the preparations are going and the response the association is receiving, we’re expecting 1100-1200 people including member spouses as invitees.”

In conjunction with PITE 2022, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) signed a memorandum of understanding with Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA), in order to boost the business ties between Penang and India. “PCEB is regularly taking the initiatives to attract business event groups to visit Penang. Connecting with the Indian market is one of the efforts that are being done, especially with India being the key market for business tourism and events in Penang. In addition to the incentive group from India, we are making strenuous efforts to organise association meetings as well in Penang” quoted Ashwin Gunasekeran, the Chief Executive Officer of Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau.